Beautiful Burden

We are creatures of labor and worry in a predictable world of unpredictably difficult and ever changing circumstances. When the burden we carry is heavy, it is wise to navigate it rather than simply suffer it. Special friends to share the load are one of life's choicest blessings. One painful step at a time, you move forward together. It doesn't hurt to adorn yourselves in beautiful colors.

(Iraqi women)

Burdens, however, are deceptive. The burden of uniformity has purpose to be sure, but the cost is often prohibitive.

(Hostesses in Beigin, China)

The burden of perfection can be an intoxicating and terrible task-master. We can't help but admire it when we see it, yet few of us are willing to invest ourselves in the attempt.

The bizarre and puzzling is a unique burden ~ or Art, depending upon your perspective.

The burden of security and power casts a very large and far-reaching shadow.

Faith can be a burden. The devotion associated with it may seem difficult, yet those who yield a little more of themselves toward the sacred are usually better for it. Consecration requires intentionality.

(Myanmar boy embarking on Buddhist ritual)

Curiosity is a lovely burden. It is after all the impetus for desire that feeds the quest to know.

(Antennae galaxies)

A Season of Life can be an exhausting burden that feels like it will never end . . .

Where you call home can be a burden. Truly meaningful struggle by nature is a lonely and totally committed prospect.

We comfort ourselves and think, "As long as that conflict is removed from my home!" This disconnect affords us comfortable viewing of the many faces of struggle. This is a mistake. We should give pause to such human expressions. We should see instead the shared burden of struggle and honor its tendency to generate powerful results.

(Syrian mother with portrait of son killed by government forces)

Leaving too early is a burden ~

(Daniel Parmertor funeral; school shooting victim)

but only to those suddenly left behind.

Arriving too early is an awesome burden. Our helplessness in either situation makes us feel small.

Large and terrifically complex issues threaten and burden our world. Many of these are things we never planned on and never invited into our lives but are the direct result of extraneous influences. It shakes our foundations.

It hurts. We feel discouraged.

The burden of our discouragement is very real and unique to our individual circumstances. This is a good thing because it also means our discouragement is appropriate to where we are and who we are.

God intended for the smallest of things

(newborn Jack Tanner)

to remind us our burdens (whatever they are) are only temporary.

(Leiland Tanner & newborn MaKenna)

Life is good. Miracles happen every day.

It is our divine capacity to rise above conflicts and disappointments that shatter the negative concept of "burden". Life experience is not valuable if we are simply dragging it behind us. As children of God we eat challenges for breakfast. The resilience of the human spirit is a viable and formidable force. Anything common can be viewed as uncommonly moving. It just depends on if we are indebted to anger, fear and doubt, or if we are willing to dive headlong into the thick of it.

(JOY within the bloody Myanmar Kachin conflict)

Burdens teach us HAPPINESS is elusive; it tugs impatiently at the string, anxious to escape our tentative grasp.

(Jackson Tanner)

It invites us to come out and play,

(Rachel Tanner & Melanie Hale)

to do new things and take dramatic risks.

(Leiland as Joseph in "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolored Dream Coat")

(James' brilliant first professional airbrush attempt: Neil Armstrong on the Moon for our mural project @ the Maricopa County Hospital)

Happiness invites us to accept the burden of hard work and fully embrace our dreams

(Robin Tanner and Brooke BYU Graduation)

and each other.

(Leiland Tanner & sisters Asia, Robin & Rachel at his wedding reception)

(James, Jack & Trisha Tanner)

(Robin & Christian Markanich)

(Leiland & Chelsey Tanner)

Looking forward to whatever comes as potentially wonderful, and really trusting our innate ability to make it so

(MaKenna Tanner)

is the magic of viewing any burden as something beautiful,

(Asia)

and is the ultimate definition of Hope.

Anomaly

I am easily amused. Perhaps it is just a quirky personality trait. Or perhaps it is a survival mechanism that gives me an edge over the rest of you - who knows?

For instance: Last week my car was in the shop. I sat on one of four raised planter beds in front of the Dalby building at Phoenix College waiting for a ride. Idly casting my gaze about, my eye happened to fall exactly onto the empty shell of a recently emerged cicada. I marveled that out of thousands and thousands of leaves in the flowering verbena, my eye would catch Mr. Cicada’s precise birthing spot (or molting spot as the case may be)!

Seventeen years is a very long time for anything, much less a milky, naked cicada grub doing whatever it does underground that entire time. His biological clock ticking, cicada finally begins his momentous struggle from a subterranean world up to the surface. Above ground he will promptly shed his delicate grubby-skin for a much larger, hardened body and wings to complete the life-cycle.

What were the chances that his triumphant ascension would happen to coincide with one of only very limited patches of earth that weren’t already covered by massive swaths of cement and asphalt? Cicada might have died without ever seeing the light - hopelessly frustrated and certainly entombed in the same dark earth where he started his simple bug existence 17 years earlier. I smiled, noting the incredibly delicate detail of the grub’s body memorialized in his discarded, tissue-thin skin that clung valiantly to the one leaf in a sea of possibilities where, in my boredom, I saw it. “Wow,” I thought, pleased, “I’m so glad I saw that!”

On another occasion, I was driving through my neighborhood when I stopped the suburban and backed it up in the middle of the road. I leaned out the driver’s window and stared at the asphalt below. It was a roof rat, totally flat from whisker to stern, morbidly frozen in a comical action-pose of running across the street. Er, running not quite fast enough.

Rats are resourceful and clever. They didn’t strike me as careless enough or slow enough to get flattened in traffic. “Wow,” I thought - what are the chances I would ever see something like that in a life-time? Seriously! The body lay undisturbed for about a week until it completely disappeared. For as long as it lasted, however, Flat Rat generated a lot of satisfaction. I delighted in driving by the carcass and inviting an unsuspecting passenger to look down when I paused the car at just the right spot. Somehow, the reaction of others never quite matched my own appreciation for little miracles.

Driving on West Glendale Avenue a couple of years ago, we approached a city bus stop where a solitary man was waiting at the bench in anything but typical waiting style. From a distance, we could see he was wildly gesturing and lunging his upper body side to side. He half-stood, half-crouched, then slid across the bench. All the while this unusual behavior was accompanied by something even more intriguing - he was shouting.

Anticipating our car passing along side, I opened my window in an attempt to hear what he was saying. He was screaming at the TOP of his lungs, “NO! NO! NO!” Obviously tormented by mental demons unrevealed to the rest of us, the man’s total commitment to arguing his point to no one with all the passion and sheer energy he could muster was ~ awesome.

Swirling in my mind were the inevitable questions: Would the bus stop for him - or keep on going? Had he already been riding the bus, but was asked to get off? Had someone asked if they could sit next to him? Was he upset because the driver had asked for exact change? As much as I searched for meaning to the man’s display, exceedingly little information was available to explain it. There was something strangely (weirdly) appealing about the full-bodied pedal to the metal expression that poor man was able to exercise. It made me want to answer him, "YES! You're right!" or "NO! Absolutely!" And yes, for whatever reason, I admit I was glad I saw that.

Grandson Jack, who is always amusing no matter what he is doing, out-did himself the Christmas he was presented with his

newborn cousin for the first time. Quivering with excitement, he clapped his hands and breathlessly exclaimed, “Oh! Baby Kenna!” He scrambled onto the couch and held out two little arms to receive the tiny baby girl. The picture was cute enough; husky big boy Jack gently, lovingly cuddling his little cousin in his lap.

Suddenly, a truly precious surprise yielded a beaming Jack spontaneously singing sweetly, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” over and over again right into Baby MaKenna’s rosy face. She gazed up at him, listening to his heart-felt crooning.

The warmth and beauty of this perfect exchange filled the room with a palpable joy and happiness that really did feel like Heaven on earth.

Only gradually I became aware that I was tightly clasping my hands in front of my chest in the classic “awe” pose. My face hurt from smiling. Through tears of deep gratitude, I whispered to no one in particular, “Oh! I am so glad I saw this!”

Epiphany

There are welcome surprises in life. The grandly unexpected, in which normal time stops because the surprise is so basic and wonderful, and that which is hugely inconvenient to most, but might actually be appreciated by a few.

There are things that naturally evoke an instant recognition of what is truly worthwhile.

Waiting patiently for our turn, or using our time creatively while waiting ~ is not surprisingly what makes us human.

For the simple sake of fun, we can go to extremes to achieve it.

It may also require some explanation... and is often more fun in company of the like-minded.

Being alone has its advantages. There is power in the quiet opportunity for mental reflection, or preparation.

There are few surprises in being the same. We do not thrive in sameness, it is not a natural state of being; sadly, we are usually compelled into it by forces which desire us to be less than human.

There is no growth in the debilitating labor of repetition, but only in being allowed the freedom to blossom.

There is much of serenity in traditional relationships, and predictable corruption in conflict.

But passion is also part of the human experience.

We struggle with the morbid attraction of viewing suffering and the agony of being helpless to relieve it.

We are very small next to the natural backdrop, and we are too easily dissatisfied with what is natural and eternally beautiful.

We place an inordinate value on the amusement of pop culture and its meaninglessness, or the comfort (and the luxury) of its silliness.

Thankfully, we still admire the kind gesture, a helpful friend, a little unexpected formality, a safe place.

So much of life is needlessly like waiting in the wings; waiting for something better, for something to change, for something to happen...

The biggest surprise of all is that we are still learning who we are and what we are actually capable of.

And this was quite unexpected.

God's Report Card: Part One

If we could give God a report card, this might be a nice start:

Earth & Space Sciences
ESS Erosion 876: The Colorado Plateau ~ Sedona, AZ ~ A+

Ordained former inland sea deposits ingeniously uplifted over time to now exhibit beautifully accessible layers of sedimentary (fossil-rich) history in classic red sandstone, and conveniently capped by lighter colored limestone.

Presentation: Surrounded by what is now high desert at around 4,500 feet above sea level, this geological anomaly is not only preserved for our enjoyment, but is much easier to reach out and touch than her famous sister, the Grand Canyon. Well done!

GEOMETRY: Symmetry ~ A +

Complex data easily interpreted and practically applied. Superior skill and knowledge of subject consistently and delightfully demonstrated in situ.

Physical Science/Work Habits ~ A +

Iron-laced sand presents a very comfortable and colorful trail. Collaborative ability in directing the sedimentary process reflects positive leadership, critical thinking and stunning forethought; life-skill of patience deserves Exceptional Merit.

ART: Achieving Contrast

Effortlessly juxtaposes divergent lines and forms to present a composite whole which is both engaging and inspiring. Not distracted by excessive design; renders simplistic themes with extraordinary richness.

and Texture ~ A+
Expresses a respect for life forms in varying stages of propagation or decay; often combining elements of opposing vitality expertly and without reservation.

Fluency & Creative Expression ~ A +
Excellent mastery of color, depth and composition. Exceptional attention to delicate, seasonal detail noted.

Horticulture ~ A+
Of course.

Progress Report on Clinical Field Study of Mortal Subjects
ORTHP: Sports Medicine ~ A +
Mortal A) Demonstrates sound theory and physical application of wilderness ambulation.

Mortal B) Needs Improvement:

HUMANITIES: A +
Expresses healthy sense of humor and imagination via multi-media efforts.

1. "Family Portrait"

2. "Mobile Home"

3. "Private Joke"

4. "Mustard Gone Wrong"

ENGL: Reading/Literacy ~ A +

Creative writing extends well beyond grade-level. Mechanics, context, expression and comprehension clearly mastered. Interpretation miraculously and abundantly transposed to overt physical manifestation; "poetry in motion" as it were. Literacy levels exceed expectations and indeed, human comprehension.

PSYCH: Honors Behavioral Science ~ A ++
* Highest Achievement Award
Generosity, pure love and social benevolence beyond description; provides a spectacularly appointed environment explicitly for the happy individual development and pleasure of all living organisms.

*photos courtesy of dctanner/Spring Break 2009